The Tao ethnic
group on Orchid Island belongs to the Austronesian
group, which is a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian
language family. Their ancestors moved to Orchid Island
from the Batanes Islands in the northern part of the
Philippines about 800 years ago (de Beauclair 1959).
Though they speak a Malayo-Polynesian language along
with other indigenous peoples in Taiwan, their culture
shows different traits. The Tao ethnic group is the only
one which does not possess brewing skills and the
customs of head-hunting, tattooing, and using bows and
arrows are also absent. They make their living by
fishing and growing tuber crops such as wetland taro and
sweet potatoes, and their diet sets them apart from
other groups. Moreover, their architectural style, their
Flying Fish Ceremony, Boat Launching Ceremony, House
Completion Ceremony, and their attitude toward death and
spirits are also unique. The current Tao population is
about 5,000, and it is the only maritime ethnic group
among Taiwan’s Austronesian groups.

Tao (or Yami) are the aboriginal residents of Orchid
Island. The name “Yami” first appeared in a report
written by a Japanese scholar, Torii Ryuzo, after he
paid his first visit to Orchid Island in the twenty
third year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign (1897) during the
Qing dynasty. Ever since then, “Yami” became the tribal
name for aboriginals on the island and was used
extensively in official documents and academic
periodicals. However, the indigenous people on the
island call themselves Tao or Tao no pongso, meaning
“human” or “people on the island.” This is how they
identify themselves. In addition, their name for the
island, Pongso no tao, means “an island of people.” In
Tao people’s traditional view of the cosmos, Orchid
Island is not the center of the world, while the sea
surrounding it is. This is distinct from the
“China-centered concept” held by the P.R.C.

Due to its geographical location, Orchid Island acts as
a transit point for the migration of Southeast Pacific
islanders, animals and plants, containing a rich Tao
culture and various rare animal and plant species. This
characteristic is of great value for the academic
research concerning aboriginal people's ethnic origins
and cultures, as well as ancient geography, biological
geography and ancient animals in Taiwan, the Ryukyu
Islands and the South Pacific region. During Japanese
colonial rule, the government declared Orchid Island a
research zone in 1895, which helped preserve the
traditional life style on the island and prohibited
outsiders from entering or cultivating land there.
Therefore, the Tao’s unique culture could be preserved
during the fifty-year colonial period.

Yami distribution map

Geographical
Distribution

Hongtou Island
(Red Head Island), off the southeastern coast of Taiwan
in the western Pacific region, at 22°03' N, 121°32' E,
is 40 nautical miles from Taiwan, 49 nautical miles from
Taitung County, and to the south are the Batanes Islands
of the Philippines. It is an ancient volcanic island
with a coastline of 38.54 kilometers, and a coastal road
of 45 kilometers long. There are nine mountains on the
island, with Hongtou Mountain (Red Head Mountain) being
the highest (548 meters above the sea). At sunrise, the
mountain top glows red, hence the name. The
pronunciation of Hongtou in Mandarin is similar to that
of hongchong (red bug); as a consequence, most
government workers declined to serve here. To correct
this situation, the Taitung County government then
renamed the island as “Orchid Island,” since it is home
to phalaenopsis orchids, a very rare species.
Orchid Island is surrounded by the sea, and has limited
resources. The living areas on the island are divided
into four similar environments by rocks; therefore, the
Tao people distinguish them into ocean, coastal area,
and mountain area. The transition areas between the
coastal area and mountains are places where villages are
established.
Orchid Island is mountainous and steep, with very few
plains. There are rivers in the valleys, forming
alluvial fans along mountain piedmonts and beaches at
the mouths of rivers. These alluvial fans have ample
water resources, and are close to arch bays and long
reef coasts where harbors lie. Also, these low-rise fans
are ideal for settlement, hence the close concentration
of villages.

Social Structure
and Social Organizations

When it comes to
social organization, the Tao culture emphasizes the bond
formed by married couples; in terms of rituals, a
successful Boat Launching Ceremony and House Completion
Ceremony are occasions for the Tao people to gain
renown. So they work hard to achieve their goals. While
men are busy building houses or boats, women must also
prepare feasts of wetland taro – the two are
indispensable for a successful ceremony. Yumei Chen
(1994) points out that a married couple (or a nuclear
family) is the basic unit of the Tao social structure,
as well as a concrete manifestation of the concept known
as “sharing of substance.” This concept can help us
understand both the group’s socio-cultural
categorization and part of its socio-cultural operation.
The author suggests that the Tao ethnic group is not
equipped with a stringent patrilineal or matrilineal
system. The formation of society and co-working groups
must be studied by applying the concept of zipos (i.e.
kin). The Tao social structure is defined by its agnatic
lineage – they hold on to patrilineage, and kin from the
same male ancestors are often tied together. The Tao do
not have a clear social hierarchy, nor do they have
chiefs. Instead, under the fishing-dependent culture,
men compose kakavay (a team with boats and a large boat
as the center) to strengthen their economic power in a
paternal society.

Production
Method and Food Culture

Yami people sharing their
food culture with others

Yami dried Flying Fish

Yami people processing
sweet potatoes

In the early
days, the Tao people maintained a subsistent economic
lifestyle on the island: they planted sweet potatoes and
taro along the mountains, while capturing fish and
shells on the sea. They also fed animals such as hogs,
sheep, and chickens. But all these were just ways to be
self-sufficient; Tao people are both producers and
consumers. The traditional Tao diet includes wetland
taro, taro sweet potatoes, fish, birds and other
animals. They also supplement their diet with foods such
as coconuts, Lintou (Pandanus tectorius), and other
kinds of fruit in addition to the two meals. Thus, the
Tao’s production methods can be divided into two
categories: one is agriculture based on sedentary paddy
cultivation and hillside crop rotation; the other is
fishing. Secondary production methods include feeding
livestock (hogs, chickens and sheep) and collecting wild
plants. Wetland taro and sweet potatoes are staple
foods, and are thus widely planted on the narrow coastal
plains on Orchid Island, forming the unique landscape.
Guanghong Yu (1994:6) notes that “the Tao divide food
into two categories – kanen and yakan. The former is the
main dish and is similar to our idea of rice, while the
latter can be understood as the side dish. Usually the
women’s daily duty is mangerp so kanen (collecting and
cooking rice), and the men’s is manersavat (looking for
side dishes). Wakei (sweet potatoes) and soli (wetland
taro) are the most important staple foods. The
non-staple foods come with a richer variety and are
obtained from the sea, an unreliable supplier. As a
result, the quantity of yakan is at the center of
attention in a Tao household. Family members have great
expectations for the man who goes out fishing, and if he
can return with a full load, not only can he support the
family and share the catch with relatives and neighbors,
he will also be respected in the society.”

The “gift exchange” system is still rooted in the life
and rituals on Orchid Island. This custom is a natural
result of the “mutually beneficial” inter-personal
relations of the Tao, but not motivated by
self-interest. However, in recent years, there have been
signs indicating that the Tao people have been more and
more involved in the trade of goods and the market
economy. Moreover, their growing dependence on
commercial products and application of currency will
also put pressure on the Tao’s traditional material
culture and subsistent economy. Guanghong Yu (1994:8)
points out that the Tao people may lose their economic
independence in the next two or three decades. This
trend has been especially obvious after Orchid Island
was opened for sightseeing in 1971. Beginning from 1972,
ships and flights have travelled regularly between
Orchid Island and Taiwan. Modern transportation has sped
up capitalization and commercialization trends on the
island, and led to a significant migration of youth
labor. Orchid Island is now a remote area with
inevitable economic penetration from Taiwan, which has
changed their traditional economic system more quickly
and more profoundly. When modern Tao people are more and
more influenced by the wave of currency value and the
market economy, it won’t take long for the following
wave of capitalism and the global system to reach the
“island of humans.” Or, we should say that the wave of
currency value and the market economy will flood the Tao
people out of Orchid Island – just as other mountain
aborigines were forced to leave their mountains after
the collapse of their traditional economies and social
structures. The only difference will be that for the
Tao, it is not “down from the mountain,” but “off of the
island!”

Ritual and
Religion

The ceremony of launching
for Yami's new boat

The Tao ethnic
group lacks a well-developed religion, but they harbor
an extreme fear of irresistible natural powers and the
unknown world. As a consequence, they dread anito (evil
spirits) more than the almighty god. Tao people point at
the sun or the moon to make confessions and pray to god;
however, there are no temples to worship gods and holy
spirits, nor are there statues of gods. All these
characteristics indicate that the Tao is a lesser
developed ethnic group. Surrounded by sea, the Tao
society is a typical maritime one. Their annual schedule
corresponds to the flying fish season. The Tao people
designed a calendar according to habitual behaviors of
marine life and the movements of ocean currents, which
includes restrictions and taboos regulating the fishing
area, timing and methods. This calendar represents the
Tao’s ethnic biology after accumulating immeasurable
experience and wisdom from the sea. Spring is the major
fishing season in a year; summer and autumn for
agriculture; autumn and winter for producing goods and
recreation. With the flying fish season as the center,
all the months from February to October are assigned to
related work accordingly, such as preparation, fishing,
distributing the catch, and storage. We can say that the
production, distribution and consumption of flying fish
have determined the Tao people’s collective life style.
The whole process of fishing for flying fish has
tremendous ritual significance, and the Tao’s close ties
with the ocean are also reflected in related ceremonies
and rituals – the Boat Launching Ceremony and the Flying
Fish Ceremony, in particular. The Tao also has a rich
material culture in this aspect; for example, building
and carving plank boats, making silver, producing
pottery and clay dolls are their extraordinary skills.
Fishing is the major activity for Tao men to make a
living, and advanced boat-building skills are thus
developed. They consider a boat as a man’s body.
Boat-building is a sacred mission and a part of life.
Owning a boat means owning the ocean and the sky and
having valor. For the Tao, boat-building is the
manifestation of divinity and beauty.

Art Crafts and
Music

Yami silver hat

Cultural collection-
Figuline pot

Aboriginal ethnic
groups in Taiwan all have made remarkable achievements
in terms of singing and dancing, and the Tao are no
exception. Upon listening to their songs, Changhuei Syu,
an expert in folk music, said that the Tao people only
have three melodies, but Tao people insist that they
have quite a number of songs applied to specific
occasions. In fact, Tao people don’t emphasize the
variety of melodies, but instead, they pay more
attention to lyrics – every song with different lyrics
is considered a new one. As for dancing, traditional
dances such as the women’s Hair Dance and the men’s
Warrior Spiritual Dance are world-renowned performances.
Other forms of dancing include the very delicate one
performed during the “boat flinging” part of a boat
launching ceremony.

Relations with
the Government

As we have seen
the north-south, east-west, and urban-rural development
gaps in Taiwan, there is also a similar gap between
Taiwan and its offshore islands. These Islands are
regarded as “remote areas” and do not come with
equivalent infrastructure in terms of transportation,
health care and education compared to that of Taiwan.
Orchid Island is such a case – it is truly an
“off–center” island under Taiwan’s political and
economic structures. Divided by the Pacific Ocean,
Orchid Island is not only distant from the political and
economic center, but also has had a series of painful
experiences with the central government. The following
governmental events and plans have caused serious damage
and resulted in conflicts, for example, “sea sand
national apartments,” “the farm of the Veteran Affairs
Commission,” a “reformation management corps for army
criminals,” a “national park plan,” the “establishment
of a nuclear waste dump,” etc. In addition, there are
other issues generated during the process of interaction
between the Tao and outsiders (mainly Taiwanese). In
recent years, Orchid Island’s “nuclear waste protest”
has been in full swing. The Tao people have repeatedly
expressed their determination that “nuclear waste must
be relocated from Orchid Island, and there will be no
compromise on this!” In a word, the nuclear waste
dumping ground has been an “undying trauma” for the Tao
as well as a painful “historical experience!”

Orchid Island- the boat
for 14 people

Young people from Orchid
Island to
National Museum of Prehistory

The development
of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples is a part of national
development. Nevertheless, when indigenous peoples
undergo modernization, they are also trapped in a
disadvantageous position within the nation's political
and economic structures – not to mention the crisis of
the extinction of traditional cultures, which would be
highly regrettable under Taiwan’s rapid development. The
Tao ethnic group had long been isolated on the island,
and lived in a closely knit ecological and social
system. Therefore, every time something new is
introduced to the island whether according to or against
the people’s will, both the “island of humans” and the
people have to accept it, but an initial rejection and
continuous absorption are hard to avoid. In this sense,
how to properly govern this tribal society under the
“national regime” of the R.O.C. seems to be an indicator
of the government’s performance. Hence, a number of Tao
intellectuals have acknowledged one thing: “The decisive
power is in the hands of the outlying political society,
in other words, the political power of the ethnic groups
in the Taiwanese societyat large. Can the group to which
one belongs dominate, or be dominated?” For example,
these intellectuals have successfully changed the name
“Yami,” adopted by traditional anthropologists and the
general public, back to “Tao.” They have also
established a “Tribal Parliament for the Tao people on
Orchid Island.” These movements are attempts to
emphasize the line between us/others through restoring
the ethnic name; there are also efforts to achieve
ethnic identity and awareness of ethnic interests, and
seek for the possibility to take some actions. In
conclusion, by analyzing the “nuclear waste protest”
phenomenon, we can understand Tao people’s reaction to
the enormous threat from the “national regime.” It is
the Tao people’s “nuclear waste protest” that
reconstructed the contemporary Tao’s “ethnic awareness.”